This invention relates generally to wire duct and in particular to prefabricated wire duct for utilization in conjunction with terminal blocks.
It is known to provide wire duct or wire channel for use in electrical apparatus. Typically the wire duct has the cross-sectional shape of the letter "U". This provides a trough of electrically insulating material having no integral top enclosing portion. The runs of wire are laid in the trough and taken to appropriate places on the electrical apparatus to be served thereby. In the case of electronic circuitry or computer circuitry relatively thin insulated wire is disposed in troughs of the kind previously described. Typically long vertical and horizontal runs of wire are neatly and orderly maintained even in a relatively complex electronic application or computer application when utilizing this type of apparatus. A longitudinal side section of the wire duct shows numerous spaced cutouts. Often there is as much open space as side portion in wire duct of this kind. The opened side spaces are utilized to feed wires out of and into the wire duct for utilization in the electronic or electrical circuitry for which the wire is provided. Often the wire duct assembly is finished by providing a cap or elongated strip of material over the top of the "U". One of the problems associated with this kind of installation or apparatus lies in the fact that the wires must be delicately fed into and out of the wire duct and provided to the terminal boards associated with the electronic circuitry which utilizes the wiring during fabrication. Often the wire duct is large and cumbersome and becomes an obstacle to completing the wiring task because it is in the way of wiremen who are attempting to fasten down the ends of the wire on screw-type terminal blocks. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that removal of a portion of the wire duct for any reason after wiring has begun usually necessitates completely removing the wires which are disposed therein and then removing the entire wire duct section as the sections tend to be unitary. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that a large amount of electrically insulating material (often petroleum or coal base) is needed to construct a wire duct according to the prior art. It would be advantageous if high quality electrically insulating wire duct could be provided which does not significantly interfere with the wiremen's operation during the wiring process, which involves a minimum use of costly and expensive materials which are often in short supply, which makes maximum use of available material which is present for other reasons and which can be easily replaced if broken.